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WASHINGTON (AP) — Too many Americans are missing out on a cure for hepatitis C, and a study underway in a hard-hit corner of Kentucky is exploring a simple way to start changing that. The key: On-the-spot diagnosis to replace today’s multiple-step testing.... ...Testing isn’t the only hurdle. A full course of hepatitis C pills costs about $24,000 -- much less than when they first hit the market but enough that many states still restrict which Medicaid patients are treated...

DENVER - Bitter cold is in the forecast for Colorado. The high temperature Thursday will struggle to surpass zero degrees, and wind chills could plummet as low as 50 degrees below zero in some parts of the state. **SNIP** Now that you’re braced for the arctic blast, we can turn to the question you may well be asking: How and why in the heck is it going to be colder in Denver than it is in Anchorage? The answer lies in what’s known as the polar vortex. According to the National Weather Service, the polar vortex is a low-pressure system...

Peru has ordered the Mexican ambassador to leave within 72 hours after Mexico granted asylum to the family of ousted Peruvian President Pedro Castillo. Mr Castillo was removed from office earlier this month after he tried to dissolve Congress.... ...Mexican President Andrés Manuel López Obrador has called the removal of Mr Castillo undemocratic. Mexican Foreign Minister Marcelo Ebrard said on Tuesday the government was negotiating safe passage for the family of Mr Castillo, who were inside Mexico's embassy in the Peruvian capital Lima.... ...Peru's foreign ministry said in its social media accounts that it was expelling Mr Monroy because "of...

Did you know that Superman's son is bisexual? So is Batman's sidekick, Robin, and lots of other superheroes created by Marvel and DC Comics. The author of the bisexual Superman story says gay people write to say they "burst into tears" when they saw that the characters had become gay. While it's nice to make LGBTIQ+ people feel more welcome in the world, not everyone is happy. They became bisexual "out of nowhere!" complains comic creator Eric July in my new video. "They make it seem as if the only way that you can relate to a character is because...

WATCH: @RandPaul prints out every page of the $1.7 trillion, 4,000-page omnibus spending bill and exposes the corruption happening in Congress right now Clip... [2 mins]

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Join with fellow FREEPERS across the world to pray for AMERICA: For those in Authority in Government, Family, Military, Business, Agri-Business, Healthcare, Education, Churches, Technology, Religious Freedom and the Media. "I urge, then, first of all, that requests, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for everyone: for kings and all those in authority that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. "(1 Timothy 2:1-2) Religion Forum threads labeled [Prayer] are closed to debate of any kind. "Finally, brothers, rejoice. Set things in order. Be encouraged. Agree with one another. Be at peace. And the God...

BEIJING, Dec 21 (Reuters) - Dozens of hearses queued outside a Beijing crematorium on Wednesday, even as China reported no new COVID-19 deaths in its growing outbreak, sparking criticism of its virus accounting as the capital braces for a surge of severe cases.... ...At a crematorium in Beijing's Tongzhou district on Wednesday, a Reuters witness saw a queue of around 40 hearses waiting to enter, while the parking lot was full.... ...The National Health Commission said on Tuesday only people whose death is caused by pneumonia and respiratory failure after contracting the virus are classified as COVID deaths. Benjamin Mazer,...

Members of the Texas National Guard are placing razor wire at a stretch of the U.S.-Mexico border in preparation for a potential migrant surge if a controversial immigration order is lifted. Bill Melugin, a national correspondent for Fox News, shared a video on Twitter Tuesday showing where the Texas National Guard had laid the razor wire and set up a line of Humvees... ... It remains unclear at this time just how long Title 42 will remain in place since Roberts may decide to refer the case to the full Supreme Court....

Long-term consumption of Allura Red food dye can be a potential trigger of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, says Waliul Khan. Researchers using experimental animal models of IBD found that continual exposure to Allura Red AC harms gut health and promotes inflammation. The dye directly disrupts gut barrier function and increases the production of serotonin, a hormone/neurotransmitter found in the gut, which subsequently alters gut microbiota composition leading to increased susceptibility to colitis. Khan said Allura Red (also called FD&C Red 40 and Food Red 17), is a common ingredient in candies, soft drinks, dairy products...

Fatigue is a common and potentially debilitating side effect of cancer radiation therapy. Scientists at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) recently found that the skin produces the hormone β-endorphin in response to radiation therapy, and that elevated β-endorphin levels contribute to fatigue after treatment. The research suggests that inhibiting this hormone might benefit patients. Several years ago, David E. Fisher, MD, Ph.D. and his colleagues showed that ultraviolet radiation exposure causes the skin to release β-endorphin—a "feel-good" hormone—to foster opiate-like behaviors and addiction to sun exposure. The likely evolutionary explanation for this response was subsequently seen to involve ultraviolet-mediated maintenance of...

Ukrainian leaders have vowed to retake all territory occupied by Russia, prompting a debate over what would be necessary for Ukraine to win and evict Moscow’s forces. The answer is primarily military because Russia is only going to abandon its hard-won gains if its troops suffer catastrophic losses, military strategists say. Behind those talks about weapons and ammunition is a deeper political question as Ukraine’s battlefield fortunes rely heavily on the willingness of Western governments to continue their multibillion-dollar military assistance to Kyiv. And pushing Russian forces out of the entrenched positions they hold in more than 15% of Ukraine’s...

@kerpen 21 Republicans voted to open debate on the omnibus. Dems only need 10 to pass the bill.

A radical group heavily funded by leftist billionaire George Soros has now been linked to Twitter’s FBI-influenced effort to squash the Hunter Biden laptop scandal. In his reporting on the seventh batch of Twitter files, independent journalist Michael Shellenberger noted that “efforts continued to influence Twitter's” leftist former Head of Trust and Safety Yoel Roth. In September 2020, just before the release of the Hunter Biden laptop story by the New York Post Oct. 14, 2020, “Roth participated in an Aspen Institute ‘tabletop exercise’ on a potential ‘Hack-and-Dump’ operation relating to Hunter Biden.” According to Shellenberger’s summarization, “The goal was...

Rishi Sunak today insisted Britain is not a racist country in the wake of Prince Harry and Meghan's claims in their Netflix documentary. The Prime Minister also defended the Royal Family following attacks made by the Duke and Duchess of Sussex in the couple's docuseries with the streaming giant. Speaking in Riga, Latvia, after attending a meeting of some of Britain's military allies, Mr Sunak said he was 'really proud' of the UK. And he described his 'enormous privilege' in being able to champion institutions such as the monarchy while abroad. ..'I absolutely don’t believe that Britain is a racist...

Congressional Republicans succeeded in slashing funding for the Internal Revenue Service in the negotiations over President Biden's $1.7 trillion omnibus budget. Senate Republicans forced Democrats and the White House to cut more than $275 million from the IRS over the next year. GOP lawmakers demanded the cut, arguing that the IRS is already slated to receive additional money over the next decade thanks to Biden's recently passed $739 billion Inflation Reduction Act. "This process was far from perfect, but ultimately it allowed Republican redlines to be adhered to and because of that I will urge my colleagues to support this...

It doesn’t matter who is buried, digging up the dead body of anyone laid to rest (besides forensic investigators cracking a cold case) is extremely disrespectful. Richmond, Virginia Democrat Mayor LeVar Stoney ordered a grounds crew to dig up the decomposed body of Confederate General AP Hill. The move by Stoney comes a day after General AP Hill’s statue was taken down and due to his statue being used as a tombstone, his body was removed the very next day.